In 2009, I presented twelve book synopses at the First Friday Book Synopsis (as I do every year). At the bottom of this post, I list the books by month. (Remember, my colleague Karl Krayer presented a different book each month).

Here are a few “bests” — my selections — re. the books from the year:

• Best theme for the year: • It takes passion, deliberate practice, and 10,000 hours of effort, to get really, really world-class good at something. The three books with the details and the motivation are: • Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.
• Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin.
• The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything
by Ken Robinson.

• Most enjoyable/engaging books to read
• Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.
• The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson.
• Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition by Guy Kawasaki.
• Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity by Michael Lewis (Editor). (The chapter by Dave Barry on buying a house is absolutely laugh-out-loud funny!)
• SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. It is worth reading just for the parable of the horse manure.

• Most practical business read…
• Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition by Guy Kawasaki. This one is worth keeping and re-reading for its practical advice.

Were there any books that I could have just skipped? I think I gained value from all twelve, although I do think the Suzy Welch book, 10 10 10, though worth reading, could have been nearly as effective as an essay.

Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers

• The best book I presented this year…
And now – if you made me choose only one, and that was the only one I could read for the year – the year’s “best” – I think I go with Outliers. But I would be unhappy at having to choose only one.

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Here are Randy’s presentations from the First Friday Book Synopsis in 2009.

January, 2009:Outliers: The Story of Successby Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown and Company (November 18, 2008).